Updates to Domain Marketplace

Based upon the feedback from the creatives, we are pleased to announce three important updates to our Domain Marketplace.

  1. Variable Commission Rates:

The commission offered for SH registered domains will now be set based upon the overall fit and marketability of the domain. As we learn more about the market demand, we are finding that the level of investment needed in promoting names varies significantly based upon the style of the name, industry of the name, overall market demand, etc. Therefore, instead of offering a standard commission rate to all domains, we will now offer a specific commission rate for each name (depending upon the overall marketability and expected marketing investment for the name).

This does not change the terms for names that are already approved in the Marketplace. However for any new names approved starting today, you will be able to see the commission rate in your Marketplace Dashboard. You will be able to accept or reject that commission rate before your domain is approved for sale in the marketplace.

We will continue to be highly curated but we will likely be able to approve additional domain names that are currently being rejected due to a potential pricing issue.

  1. Many of you have shared the feedback about the significant effort required in classifying the domain names before even knowing whether or not they will be approved. Starting immediately, you will be able to submit the domains without adding any additional details (e.g. possible uses, keywords or description). If your name is approved, and you accept the commission rate, you will then add additional details to classify the name before it goes live in the marketplace.

  2. We are seeing an overwhelming number of submissions for review. This number is expected to further increase once we remove the restrictions related to entry classification. While we do not intend to introduce any listing fees, we will be adding a limit to how many pending names can be submitted by each creative at a given time. These limits will be based upon your overall approval rate in the marketplace. If your approval rate is higher than your peers, you will likely not see any limits or restrictions. However if your approval rate is relatively lower, you will only be able to submit a limited number of names at a given time. Once those names have been reviewed by the SH team, you will be able to submit more names. This will allow the SH team to manage the overall review requests more efficiently.

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Will we be able to view our approval rate and potential limitations somewhere? If so, where can we find this and will we see what rate is required to lift limitations or be given them?

One last question, will our approval rate include previous rejected and accepted domains or will the rate start today with new submissions going forward?

Thanks :slightly_smiling_face:

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Grant, do you know yet how this will be accomplished? Will we be resubbing names or are you going to approve some that werenā€™t approved before and let us know through the dashboard?

Thanks

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One more question. Do you know what the maximum commission will be? Will it stay the same at 40% or $300 whichever is higher? (Meaning, are you saying that thereā€™s no chance the commission will be higher but very likely commissions will go lower?)

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@grant Will previously submitted names be re-reviewed under your new terms?

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One bit of feedback. I just received a pre-approval on a name I submitted today (yay) offering a X% commission. But it doesnā€™t say anywhere (at least that I can find) what the proposed selling price is, so I donā€™t know what Iā€™d be getting X% of. It would be helpful to provide that info.

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@Therold I had one pre-approved yesterday too, and when it went live today it was listed at $899, like all the other new names. Honestly, I was expecting it to be priced lower, since I thought the reason I was accepting a lower commission was because it wasnā€™t worth as much as other marketplace names. Itā€™s going to take a while to get a handle on this new system, I think.

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What does it mean with ā€œApproved by creativeā€

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@fxpreneur It means you have accepted their commission proposal, and the name is about to go live.

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I deleted this postā€¦

@grant

Iā€™ve been trying to think of a way for creatives to list names that have been rejected in the marketplace but we still want to protect them by buying themā€¦ and that it still benefits SH but cuts SHā€™s workload.

How does a secondary marketplace sound? (or the same marketplace with these names at the very bottom). A ā€˜creatives listings marketplaceā€™. No approvals. No logos. Just the name typed as it is now before the logos are added. Same terms as our owned domains in the marketplace.

SH gets any traffic those domains bring. SH doesnā€™t have to do any work to list the names. SH still gets a commission if it sells.

Creatives protect their names. Creatives can submit their names in contests as they do now etc.

Basically, SH is providing a landing page for names we want to protect in exchange for exclusivity for those names.

An idea? Or the beginnings of an idea that needs tweaking?

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Great idea, Able! How would they be priced? Would the creative add a price that would line up with a contest price? For example, if we have names that we think would be in the $200 range for a prize, would we do that? Or would we assume that all of them would be for the $300 prize (I forget what package that would be for the CHā€¦but you get what I mean.)

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Maybe a set price, all the same.

Iā€™m just throwing a few ideas about that hopefully will find a solution to our frustrations but benefits SH.

Another idea. A small charge to list names that are not accepted but we still want to buy and list? To cover the cost of the logo etc. This is probably an easier solution to the one above.

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@Commulinks Fairly certain the minimum is not $300 on these new names, judging by how mine is displayed in my dashboard. Itā€™s just a flat percentage. once the name actually goes live the commission estimate displays accurately.

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@ALDaisy1 So under the new update we could get less than the minimum $300?

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@AbleBrands Looks like it, yes. There is no ā€œ$XXX or $300, whichever is greaterā€ listed on the new names.

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I deleted this postā€¦

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@Chasity2ku: Although you are not able to see your specific approval rate, you will be able to see a message in your marketplace submission page if you exceed the maximum number of unreviewed entries compared to your allowed limit. For example, if your account has a limit of 10 unreviewed entries, when you try to submit the 11th entry, you will see that message. The message will clear up automatically when we have reviewed some of your previous entries, and you will then be able to submit more entries. The approval rate takes into account all your past and recent submissions.

@Commulinks: The pricing rules are now specific to the domain. If there is a $300 minimum, that will be explicitly stated in the commission Terms. If you do win a contest with that name, you will receive the full contest award as per the contest rules. In case of contests which are open to premium domains, you will receive the greater of the contest award or your commission (based upon the selling price of the domain).

@Therold @ALDaisy1: Good catch. We have now started including the initial selling price of these domains. Please note, most domains will likely start at the same selling price - but their pricing will be adjusted as we gain a better understanding of the market demand for that domain. The price may be adjusted higher or lower, or we may decide to offer limited period discounts on specific domains. For clarity, commission will be based upon the final selling price paid by the customer (not based upon the initial listing price).

@Commulinks and @AbleBrands: The new commission structure may allow us to accept names that would have otherwise been rejected. This will predominately apply to new submissions, but there will be circumstances where we will review past submissions for consideration.

@Ablebrands: Thanks for the idea. It is an interesting suggestion and we will keep it in mind as we expand our offerings. We do not want to become an open ended marketplace and would always keep a curated focus on our Marketplace - however we will look into the possibility of a separate section in the future. This is not something we will consider in the short term because our current focus is on further building out our existing Marketplace.

Do we need to resub them?

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We canā€™t. I just tried. It says ā€œNot Accepted In Domain Marketplaceā€ so SH would have to clean the slate for us to resubmit or go physically through the previous submitted entries again.

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